


Broken Pieces

by newsies_of_corona



Series: Alchemy Brothers AU- A Series of Oneshots [1]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Hugo's adopted in this one as well, I really want to punch these bullies, PLATONIC I love you's!, alchemy brothers, best friends au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:42:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26402866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newsies_of_corona/pseuds/newsies_of_corona
Summary: Varian and Hugo encounter some roadblocks...
Relationships: alchemy bros - Relationship
Series: Alchemy Brothers AU- A Series of Oneshots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1918906
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	Broken Pieces

“Hairstripe! Hurry up, you slow poke!”

Hugo runs through Old Corona village, Varian trailing behind him carrying as much glassware as he possible can.

He tediously walks, one step at a time, trying his hardest not to drop any.

“Well...may-maybe you could give me a hand instead of, you know, _yelling_ at me!” The glassware pile says from behind Hugo.

Oh wait, that’s Varian.

The beakers and vials begin to teeter over in the alchemist’s hands and almost hit the ground before Hugo swoops in and grabs half of the pile.

“Oh. There you are Hairstripe! You’re so short I couldn’t even see you behind all this stuff!” Hugo jokes with a smug smile.

Varian rolls his eyes, “Shut up, heh.”

He looks at the situation they had gotten themselves into with a small frown.

“Heh. Note to self...next-next time we _definitely_ have to bring dad’s wheelbarrow when we buy glassware, heh.”

He almost drops a vial but steadies himself and continues walking.

“Yeah, no kidding. Though we wouldn’t need so much if _someone_ didn’t blow everything up every two minutes,” Hugo remarks snidely.

“Hey! The last time was with _your_ compound!” Varian fires back.

Hugo opens his mouth briefly, but remembers Varian is indeed correct.

“Touché...” he grumbles.

The two continue walking until they finally pass the marketplace. It’s only a couple more blocks to their house. They can make it without breaking any beakers, right?

Suddenly, a loud crash resulting from a broken flask causes Varian to whip his head around to face Hugo.

“Heh, _now_ who’s-“

The alchemist immediately cuts himself off when he sees the boys’ biggest nemeses walking towards them: Hunter and Curtis.

Hunter is taller than Varian, but a lot shorter than Hugo. His brunette bangs swoop in front of his eyes on the left side of his face, covering one of his hazel eyes. Hunter’s father is a close friend of Quirin, and Varian has known the boy since they were kids. Only recently did he team up with Curtis when Varian exploded the town yet again. Curtis, a fiery red-head with a temper to match acts as the brains of the team while Hunter acts as the brawn. The two have been tormenting the brothers for about a month now, practically every time they leave the house.

“Right on cue...” Hugo whispers as he kicks away the glass.

Hunter is the cause of broken flask, and he stands there blocking the Hugo’s path along with his partner in crime.

“If it isn’t the Old Corona _Menace_ and his _assistant_...” Curtis mocks, moving to block Varian’s path directly.

Hugo isn’t one for conflict, but he doesn’t like anyone insulting Varian either. And he especially hates that nickname that the village _generously_ bestowed on his brother. He’d gladly take the fall for that one. He shakily delivers a snide comment.

“Oh, come-come on, fellas! You _really_ need to step up your game on the insulting nicknames! I mean, Hairstripe may not _look_ like much at first glance but he’s no assistant-“

Hunter laughs cynically and steps closer to Hugo. The brunette boy is significantly shorter than the blond, but he still intimidates Hugo enough to make him back up.

“ _You’re_ the assistant.”

Hugo stiffens slightly and gulps as Hunter gives him a shove, shaking him up and causing another test tube to crash to the ground.

Varian narrows his eyes at Hunter and grits his teeth. He’s heard the “Old Corona Menace” nickname multiple times before. _He_ deserves it, but Hugo? Hugo should be allowed to have a better reputation.

“Sorry, what-what did you say to him?” Varian asks slowly.

Hunter starts to walk away from Hugo but Curtis stops him, enclosing in further on Varian.

“You heard him. That weakling _orphan_ you call a _‘brother’_ is just adding to our problem.”

“Yeah and that’s _you_ Vari-jerk!” Hunter speaks up.

Hugo rolls his eyes and scoffs.

“Oh come on, that’s not even clever,” he voices under his breath.

“Shut it, _Huge_ -o!” Hunter yells, trying to regain his ego.

Hugo resists the urge to roll his eyes again in fear of being beat up. Hunter may be shorter than him, but he and Curtis together can do a lot of damage. Especially considering the heaps of fragile and dangerous glassware that the alchemists were carrying.

“Listen, guys, we have a lot on our hands right now, _literally,_ ” Hugo puns. “So, maybe we can move our weekly bullying session over a day?”

He starts sweating nervously and backs up more when Hunter smirks at him, drawing even closer than before.

“Uh, or-or a month?”

A cynical laugh on Varian’s side causes Hugo to shift his focus away from Hunter.

“No this is a _great_ time,” Curtis replies mockingly as he snatches up one of the flasks on top of Varian’s pile.

“Heh, uh, please don’t touch that...” Varian asks, trying to bottle up and distract from the anger he feels.

Curtis looks it over and tosses it back in forth in his hands.

“What is this anyway? Some kind of jar for your _magical spells_?”

Varian corrects him, just like he does everyone else. Even if this time it’s a little more strained.

“Heh..technically it’s not _magic_ , it’s _alchemy,_ and-and that’s actually a-“

Curtis drops the flask on the ground before Varian can finish, and it shatters into a million pieces.

“Ugh you’re such a _nerd._ Both of you. Let me let you in on something: no one cares about your sorcery-“

“Alchemy.” Hugo speaks up under his breath, but unfortunately Hunter hears him. He rolls up his sleeve, jumps up, and punches Hugo straight in the face.

The blow is so unexpected and so forceful that it causes him to stagger back. He drops all the glassware and it shatters around his feet. Hugo holds his injured cheek which most likely contains a bruise.

“Just another one for the collection...” he whispers, trying to stay strong.

“Maybe that’ll teach you to keep your mouth shut, _Huge_ -o. You should have just stayed an orphan. You’re _more_ of a nothing now than you were before.”

Hugo tries to keep in his tears, but Curtis’s words cut deep. He simply looks up at the boy with hurt and angry eyes.

“Awe. You gonna cry?” Hunter taunts, glancing kicking some of the glass in Hugo’s direction.

Varian stays silent through this whole exchange...but _livid_. His eye begins to twitch as his grip on the glassware tightens, causing some of the beakers he’s holding start to crack from the pressure.

“Whatever you call it, we’re tired of you _morons_ blowing up our town! And if we get all your magic stuff out of the way...” Hunter moves over to Varian and grabs two test tubes from his pile, smashing them both to the ground.

Curtis crosses over to Hugo who’s still holding his injured cheek. The red-head threateningly stalks closer and hits the inside of his hand with his fist.

Varian can’t hold it in anymore and he throws down all of the glassware he’s holding. The sound of the glass shattering causes both bullies to stare straight at him.

“Don’t you _dare_ touch my brother _again,_ ” he warns between gritted teeth.

Curtis and Hunter glance at each other nervously for a moment. After all, this is the kid who blew up their entire village only a month prior. Both of their houses were damaged in the explosion. There’s no telling what the “dangerous wizard” could do to _them._

“Hairstripe, don’t-“

The desperation in Hugo’s voice seems to push Curtis on, even though he’s still wary of Varian.

“Wha-what are you gonna do? Explode us?” Curtis asks with a nervous laugh.

His comment gives Varian an idea and he readies a smoke bomb from his pocket.

He glances to Hugo behind him and backs up.

“Come on, _Vari-jerk!_ Show us what you got!” Hunter chimes in.

Curtis shoots him a look. As far as they knew, Varian could _kill_ them if they weren’t careful. However, this doesn’t stop the bullies from cornering the alchemy brothers anyway, their fists dangerously close to the alchemists’ faces.

At the last second, Varian gives Hugo a short nod and throws his purple smoke bomb on the ground. Before it hits, the brothers sprint away as fast as they can, leaving their attackers coughing and surrounded in smoke.

The two run all the way back to their house, stopping right outside of the farm to catch their breaths.

“Varian...the glassware-“

The alchemist cuts him off, still angry at the bullies.

“Hugo, I could care _less_ about the glassware. We can buy more...eventually...”

He trails off, knowing it won’t be any time soon. They were in danger every time they left their house. He sighs and continues voicing his grievances.

“But Curtis and Hunter have-have been tormenting us for _too_ long. I couldn’t just stand there and do _nothing!_ ”

Hugo rubs his cheek, his fingers hitting an old bruise next to his fresh one. Varian sees him wince in pain, and furrows his own eyebrows.

“We-we’re telling dad what happened.” He states matter-of-factly as he marches towards the house. “He’s the village leader, for Demanitus sake! He-he can _do_ something-“

Hugo catches up with Varian and stands in front of him. The last thing he wants right now is to cause more problems for his family...

“No, Hairstripe. I’ll just say it was another acid burn...if he asks.”

“But Hugo-“

The blond calmly cuts him off again.

“There’s no reason to get them into more trouble. I mean we already destroyed their houses, which they won’t let us live down...”

Varian starts to raise his voice, not understanding why Hugo doesn’t agree with him on this.

“Hugo, that-that was _my_ invention. You had nothing to do with it. But Hunter hit you! Twice in the last _week!_ And the things Curtis said were...were _inexcusable!_ Don’t-don’t you think they deserve some form of punishment?”

Hugo notes Varian’s tone; he sounds actually...angry. And when Varian was angry, the only smart thing to do is to _listen._ Hugo carefully considers his brother’s words. Even though Quirin adopted him years ago, it still feels weird to have people standing up for him. Almost as if he didn’t deserve it.

“Maybe...” he trails off.

But what would happen _after_ the boys were punished? The bullying wouldn’t stop, that’s for sure. Everyone in the town already hates them. If Curtis and Hunter were taken down, there would surely be others to take their place, most likely targeting Varian. Hugo couldn’t take that chance. He could deal with a couple dumb bullies for his brother’s sake.

Hugo takes a breath and shrugs, standing up straighter to show he’s okay.

“But it’s just a bruise! Plus Hunter’s punches are wimpy anyway. Same with his nicknames,” the blond jokes.

Varian’s intense glare softens and he chuckles slightly.

“Yeah those nicknames are pretty dumb, heh. I mean ‘Huge-o?’ _Really?_ ”

Hugo smiles, glad that he successfully changed the subject.

“And ‘Vari-jerk?’ That’s _Vari_ -insulting to many other _Vari_ -interesting words that flow seamlessly with your name.”

Varian rolls his eyes but ends up laughing. He can always count on Hugo to cheer him up. Even if it’s with dumb puns. But that doesn’t erase that matter at hand.

“Are you sure, though? About keeping it a secret _again?_ ” The alchemist asks, hoping for a different response.

Hugo’s face falls, Varian isn’t going to let this go so easily, but he can still try to avoid the subject as long as possible.

“Yeah. I’m sure.” Hugo stays serious for a moment before his tone flips back to joking.

“Plus I’m sure you already scared them silly with that smoke bomb stunt.” He elbows Varian in camaraderie and the alchemist returns the gesture.

“Well they _literally_ asked for it! And you can’t say they didn’t deserve it, heh.”

Hugo shrugs in agreement and the two walk a bit further to the door. Varian starts to walk in when Hugo stops him by putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Hairstripe...Varian. I don’t say this enough but...thank you for sticking up for me. It means a lot,” he tells his brother sincerely with a slight smile between the pain of his bruise.

Varian is slightly surprised at this out of the blue gratitude from Hugo, but smiles back and shrugs nonchalantly.

“Of course, Hugo. That’s what brothers are for, you know? We stick together,” he tells him, bumping him on the arm.

Hugo rolls his eyes but still maintains his smile. This is getting a bit too sappy for him, even though he secretly enjoys the affection. He tries to change the subject again.

“Ha, yeah. So much so that I’m apparently your ‘assistant.’”

He smirks, elbowing Varian again.

“I thought that was _Cassie’s_ job!”

Varian immediately turns red and elbows Hugo.

“ _GAH!_ H-hey-shut up!” He retorts.

Their little episode at the expo is not one to forget. And Hugo will never let him live down the “Cassandrium” incident. Luckily, they both know he’s joking. Hugo’s comments aren’t painful or cutting like Curtis’s, just _mildly_ annoying. But Varian wouldn’t change it for the world.

The two stand in an awkward silence for a while in front of the door, when Varian decides to go for it. He suddenly wraps Hugo in a hug, causing the taller boy to tense.

After the initial shock, Hugo’s wary at first, but he hugs him back. Like it or not, he _really_ needs this.

“I-I just wanted to say, even though you’re adopted, I still love you as my _real_ brother, Hugo,” Varian tells him genuinely. “Nothing is _ever_ going to change that.”

Hugo blushes nervously, but the corners of his mouth start to turn up in a smile.

“I...uh...”

He sighs, and finally gives in to the “sappy” moment.

“I love you too, Hairstripe.”

And he means it. Their glassware might be broken, and even their reputation is shattered into pieces, but they have each other _and that’s all that really matters._


End file.
